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GameStop creates additional digital media executive position

by JC Fletcher { Nov 5th 2009 at 4:27AM }

GameStop is serious about digital distribution -- and it's proved that by hiring another person to be in charge of it. Shawn D. Freeman will be the company's new senior vice president and general manager of digital business, taking a position that the company has just created.

Freeman has previously worked as president of Ticketsnow.com and senior vice president of resale for Ticketmaster, in addition to positions with Hotels.com and Handango. He'll be "responsible for overseeing and cultivating the company's digital business strategy," according to GameStop's statement. He'll presumably be working closely with the general manager of digital media, who is "developing and executing" the company's "digital acquisition strategy."

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

GameStop: PS3 sales remain 'very strong' post price cut

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 6:30PM }

For a moment, let's ignore the billions Sony has lost on the PS3 so far and focus on optimism for the future. GameStop executive vice president Tony Bartel notes that momentum for the console has maintained a solid sales pace following Sony's most recent price drop and hardware remodeling.

Bartel tells IndustryGamers that there was a natural surge after the initial announcement of the price drop months ago and that the retailer has seen "very strong" PS3 sales through October. He didn't reveal specific data, though, and we'll have to wait and see if his claims are reflected in the overall October hardware sales figures released by the NPD later this month.

Pre-order LittleBigPlanet PSP for a tank costume

by JC Fletcher { Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:20PM }

Ready to start collecting Sackboy costumes all over again? Pre-ordering LittleBigPlanet for PSP at GameStop seems to be a good way to get a headstart on building a respectable LittleBigCloset. The retailer is offering a series of six outfits based on popular PlayStation franchises, including two each from Uncharted 2, MotorStorm and Killzone 2. The costumes will be e-mailed with online orders or handed out on cards with in-store purchases.

One of the Killzone costumes is the tank revealed recently by LittleBigWorkshop. Hopefully, it'll be accessible for non-GameStop buyers, because we'd be heartbroken if every LBP player didn't get to run around in a lil' tank.

[Thanks, Kevin!]

Modern Warfare 2 is GameStop's most pre-ordered game ever

by Justin McElroy { Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:20AM }

Some may have been up in arms about arguably disturbing material and unarguably juvenile advertising in and for Modern Warfare 2, but it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of stifling anticipation for the game. In fact, GameStop told Game Hunters that Infinity Ward's baby is the most pre-ordered title in the company's history. Like ... ever. GameStop VP Tony Bartel told the site, "As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we've taken for the game is the highest for any title we've ever sold in our 6,200 store network."

So feel free to grouse all you want, but unless Activision replaces the FPS gameplay with first-person putting puppies into a wood chipper and renames it Osama bin Laden Pushes Jesus Christ Down a Flight of Stairs Made of Baby Skulls, we're not sure there's any amount of controversy that's going to slow Modern Warfare 2 down.

Choose your Rabbids Go Home bonus: Assassin's Creed Rabbid ... or Geek Squad Rabbid

by JC Fletcher { Nov 2nd 2009 at 12:15PM }

Rabbids Go Home is now out, having officially been released yesterday. However, the bonuses typically associated with pre-orders are still up for grabs, in the form of two sets of retailer-exclusive Rabbids. If you order the game from GameStop (who, confusingly, is still accepting pre-orders), you'll receive exclusive Rabbid costumes based on Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed.

If you buy it from Best Buy (in-store), you'll receive exclusive Rabbid costumes based on ... Best Buy. The exclusive Best Buy Employee and Geek Squad Rabbids will be yours! It's a tough choice, we know: the guy from Assassin's Creed or the guy who sold you Assassin's Creed. However, we doubt the codes are one-time use, so you should be able to find all the costume codes online soon enough.

Pre-order Modern Warfare 2, trade it in by Dec. 13, get $40 from GameStop

by David Hinkle { Oct 29th 2009 at 6:00PM }

GameStop would like to rent you a copy of Modern Warfare 2, it seems, as the company has revealed a trade-in plan for the standard and Hardened editions of the game. If you pre-order the game through GameStop's site, you''ll be eligible to get $40 back should you trade it in before December 13. GameStop will email pre-orderers a coupon on November 15 to that effect, which will only work for trade-ins on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

Considering this "deal" also applies to the Hardened edition, we have to wonder how the company will handle the included Call of Duty Classic. We've contacted GameStop for some additional info on that and will relay what we hear back.

[Thanks, Marques!]

GameStop hiring 15,000 temporary employees this holiday

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 27th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Like other retailers, North America's largest video game brick-and-mortar chain will be gearing up for the holiday sales rush with a flood of new, temporary employees. GameStop is bolstering its "game advisors" numbers by 78% (see: grunts) and the company's total employee population by 46% (see: covenant) -- that's 15,000 people altogether, RTT News reports.

While the employees will be considered "seasonal," they will reportedly receive the same benefits to working at the company as any other employee, including game borrowing and an employee discount. No word on whether they'll also get the complimentary demoralization and up-selling technique training.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers: The Pre-order Bonuses

by JC Fletcher { Oct 27th 2009 at 5:45PM }

Click to My Life as a King-sizeFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers will be released in North America on the day after Christmas. If you're daring enough to pledge your money in advance to Square Enix's bold experiment in Final Fantasy action games, you face a choice: which store -- and which pre-order bonus -- will you choose? Square Enix sent out a list of retailers offering bonuses.

If you purchase the game from Amazon (current price: $44.99), you'll get a 2010 calendar. If you opt for Best Buy, you'll get a soundtrack sampler, which probably has tracks from the game, rather than Bon Jovi singles. GameStop's offer is $5 off of reservations, but that's not terribly appealing, given that the reduced price is the same as what Amazon is offering, with no extra stuff.

Gallery: FFCC: Crystal Bearers Pre-order Bonuses

Left 4 Dead 2 commercial hits a home run ... for GameStop

by Randy Nelson { Oct 27th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Okay, we won't deny it -- the first TV spot for Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty cool. After all, it's got the four survivor characters in a baseball stadium filled with the infected undead, one of which gets knocked into the bleachers (or at least a few feet through the air) by a baseball bat. But as much as it's an advertisement for the game, it's also one for GameStop, driving home the fact that the American baseball bat is available only through pre-order at the retailer. Good for them!

It's a bit of a downer, though, for those who've reserved the game elsewhere. Or what about the people who just walk into a store on release day to snap up a copy? We've got it! The next ad should feature the survivors being ripped apart by zombies, with the tagline "Pre-order or Die!" We mean, a company's eventually going to go there someday, right?

GameStop details three-point plan for digital distro future

by David Hinkle { Oct 22nd 2009 at 10:00PM }

GameStop doesn't really have to worry about digital distribution devices like the PSP Go right now -- in the Go's case, it's because there's pretty much nothing on it -- but, in the future, the company may need to consider adapting to a less physical media-dependent market. Though some say that day won't come until 2017 (others say digital distribution will endanger the company), Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian recently attended an analyst-only GameStop meeting at the NYSE (via IndustryGamers) where the company actually detailed its plans to prepare for the rise of ~~the machines~~ digital distribution.

GameStop's three main goals to adapt included increasing in-store sales of point cards for online purchases, expanding its digital distribution of PC and casual titles via its website and making a strategic investment in the space or acquiring an online entity specializing in digital distribution. The first two are pretty cut and dry, but that last item really gives one food for thought.

There are certainly a plethora of online distributors that GameStop could own; Steam, Greenhouse, Impulse, GoG and Direct2Drive are all established and popular digital distribution services, though we think GameStop may have some trouble should it pursue Steam or Direct2Drive -- which are owned by Valve and IGN (News Corp.), respectively. And, hey, if GameStop decides to purchase any one of these and doesn't like it, there's always the option to trade it back in for ... ah, forget it.

Borderlands launching at midnight at 1,300 GameStops

by JC Fletcher { Oct 19th 2009 at 11:00PM }

Want to get Borderlands a little early and stay up a little late? In addition to the North Texas midnight launches that Gearbox staffers will be attending, the company has announced midnight launches at around 1,300 different GameStop locations. We guess 2K does have more pull than we thought! You can browse the list right here and see if your closest store is on the list. If it isn't ... think of it as a chance to get acquainted with some new GameStop employees.

Basically, you now have only one excuse for not getting Borderlands tonight if you're into the game and you're in the US, and that is not wanting to go to GameStop and stand in line at midnight. Which is actually pretty reasonable.

GameStop-exclusive 360 controller goes radioactive

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 16th 2009 at 7:30PM }

click to irradiate

Major Nelson has revealed a new Xbox 360 wireless controller bundle, which includes the in your face controller seen above. To be carried exclusively at GameStop, the controller features a "carbon fiber" color scheme overlaid by a red trefoil, and also includes a Play & Charge kit so you can keep playing into the wee hours of the morning. If, for whatever reason, you like the design and decide you'd like to put your money down, they run $69.99 and can be pre-ordered now. According to GameStop's website, they go on sale next week.

For those who can do without a Play & Charge kit (normal old batteries work great!), don't forget that the Wireless Controller Game Pack goes on sale next month for $10 less and includes four XBLA games.

GameStop suggests $40 price for Super Street Fighter IV

by David Hinkle { Oct 16th 2009 at 4:30PM }

With Super Street Fighter IV proposing to add eight new fighters to the already content-rich SFIV experience, we could easily envision Capcom charging top dollar for the title -- despite Capcom's comments to the contrary -- but that doesn't appear to be the case. According to a GameStop listing, the retailer pegs the release down to March 23, 2010, which certainly falls in line with Capcom's quoted "Spring 2010" placeholder, and suggests the game will have a $40 price tag.

Look, Capcom, all we're going to say is this: the price isn't an issue, but in all of your tinkerin' with this and that, you better not mess with our favorite character, Dan -- or we will find you ... and likely grovel at your feet, asking you to change him back.

[Via Destructoid]

Borderlands devs heading out for midnight launches in Texas

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 16th 2009 at 6:00AM }

So, Gearbox and 2K may not have the pull to grant Borderlands a nationwide mega midnight launch, but gosh-darn-it, they're gonna keep a couple GameStops open late on October 19! For those in the DFW (Dallas Fort Worth, holla!), the developers will be showing up to sign copies (at least "five guys with sharpies") -- and they'll bring some posters and T-shirts along, too.

2201 Preston Rd Plano, TX 75093-2306
6245 Rufe Snow Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76148-3321

The Plano location will have a "four-player LAN setup available to play starting around 9PM." A Gearbox representative tells us they'll "hopefully" have something set up at the Ft. Worth location as well.

Analyst: GameStop sales safe from digital delivery until 2017

by Xav de Matos { Oct 15th 2009 at 8:00PM }

Even though GameStop seems to be accepting the inevitable digital future, one analyst says the major gaming retailer won't feel the pinch from online game delivery services until 2017. According to Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter, limited storage capacity and bandwidth limitations mean it is "unlikely" that digital services will have a "meaningful impact" on GameStop's sales within this console cycle. Schachter doesn't anticipate the next console cycle to kick off until some time in 2014 and, even if future formats are completely digital, believes it will still take a number of years for market penetration to reach a threatening level to the retail business.

For an example of "proof" to his claims, Schachter points to the "very disappointing sales" of the digital download exclusive, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned. Confusing, considering all previous accounts have pointed to the downloadable expansion as seeing strong sales since release.

"The bottom line is that retail still matters," Schachter told IndustryGamers. While some analysts are keen on throwing the brick-and-motar chain under the bus during the increasing digital age, Schachter claims Gamestop "continues to defy the naysayers." He went on to ask if we wanted to pre-order any future games industry analysis.

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